Students of the Ogun state-owned Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun have staged a peaceful protest against what they termed outrageous fees being paid by students of the institution.
The protesting students in their hundreds stormed Abeokuta, the state capital, saying that the lofty ideas of the institution’s founding fathers are under serious threat with the alleged high-handedness of the management of the institution.
The students opposed increase in acceptance fee of new intakes from N30,000 to N40,000; final clearance fee for graduating students from N25, 000 to N45,000; increase in vocational studies fees from N1,000 to N25,000; payment of N10,200 as Student Tax; N7,500 as payment for replacement of lost final clearance and N1,500 fee for any reprint of school fees receipt.
In a letter of protest addressed to the State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, the students identified victimization of students’ activists, inadequate learning facilities, under-funding of the school by the state government, inadequate learning facilities as some of the challenges confronting the school.
The letter reads partly, “Education is supposed to be the leading social responsibility of the government. It is supposed to be seen as the major way of giving back to the society, but has turned to source of income and revenue for some people. Education is totally commercialized in TASUED. You pay for everything!
“As a result of several complaints and cries from the students, the leadership of the students’ Union government tried all they could to engage the school management to look into our plights in view of the present economic reality in the country and see ways of managing the situation at hand.”
Addressing the students at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in the state capital, Governor Ibikunle Amosun asked them to show more understanding and cooperation with government, especially in the face of the current economic recession in the country
”in Ogun state, education is free from primary to secondary but not free in our tertiary institutions and if you want your certificate to be worthwhile, you have to pay.
“It cannot be totally free, if you don’t want to pay, that means you may not get the type of education you rightly deserve,” he noted
The Governor, however, promised to liaise with the institution’s management with the view of getting a way out of some of the challenges confronting the students.
